John Amos passed away on August 21st from natural causes at the age of 84, according to his son.
KC Amos wrote in a statement, “It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned. He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life…. most recently in ‘Suits LA’ playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, ‘America’s Dad.’ He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”
Amos is best known for playing the patriarch, James Evans, on Good Times. The series was a Norman Lear sitcom that captured what it was like for a poor African American family surviving in Chicago during the late ’70s. It tackled the hardships that they went through with humor.
However, when the humor and stereotyping became too much, Amos’ complaints about that led to his time on the show coming to an end. His character’s death made way for one of the most iconic moments on television. His character’s wife didn’t seem to be affected by his death. But at the episode, she broke a punch bowl and screamed out, “Damn! Danm Damn!”
He and Lear remained friends, and Amos starred in his sequel to All in the Family in 1994.
His career started in 1970 and continued through this year. While Good Times is what he will be remembered for most, he had plenty of other roles for us to rmeember in. His breakout role was the sane person in the newsroom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He also was seen in Coming to America and the sequel, Roots, The West Wing. and All About the Andersons, to name a few.
Today, scream out, “Damn! Damn! Damn!” so that he can hear our voices as he makes his way up to heaven.
Drake Hogestyn lost his battle with pancreatic cancer yesterday, the day before his 71st birthday.
The Days of Our Lives star family wrote this statement: “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn. He was thrown the curve ball of his life when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he faced the challenge with incredible strength and determination. After putting up an unbelievable fight, he passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones.
“He was the most amazing husband, father, papa, and actor. He loved performing for the Days audience and sharing the stage with the greatest cast, crew, and production team in the business.
“We love him and we will miss him all the Days of our Lives.”
The actor is best known for playing John Black on Days since 1986. Although he started his run as the mysterious villain, The Pawm, the audience fell in love with him. He quickly became and remained a Daytime Drama favorite.
His death leaves a big hole in the Soap World. He might be gone, but the silver fox’s legacy will live on.
Hogestyn is survived by his wife, Victoria, whom he married in 1986, his four children, Whitney, Alexandra, Rachael, Ben, and seven grandchildren.
Norman Lear passed away yesterday at the age of 101, it was announced in a statement on his social media.
“It is with profound sadness and love that we announce the passing of Norman Lear, our beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Norman passed away peacefully on December 5, 2023, surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end.
“Norman lived a life in awe of the world around him. He marveled at his cup of coffee every morning, the shape of the tree outside his window, and the sounds of beautiful music. But it was people—those he just met and those he knew for decades—who kept his mind and heart forever young.
“As we celebrate his legacy and reflect on the next chapter of life without him, we would like to thank everyone for all the love and support.”
And what a legacy he left behind. He changed television forever with All In the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, and 227, to name a few.
Before Lear, television was innocent and didn’t reflect what was going on in society. But then came Archie Bunker, and television would never be the same.
I wish I could say we are a better society because of him. But people didn’t learn from what he was trying to teach us.
So I watch his show as though they are history books. I like to compare how far we have come in 50 years. And on some of the issues he addressed, we have progressed. But sadly, with so many of them, we have regressed.
In 1972, Maude was able to have an abortion because it was legal in New York, but it was not in the country. Fifty years later, we are almost in the same boat. Edith’s friend Beverly was a Drag Queen and wasn’t accepted because of it. It’s still a problem today. And let’s talk about racism. We are still a racist country. I could go on, but you get my point.
Norman Lear shined a light on problems in America, and we should’ve become better people because of it. Some of us did. And sadly, too many didn’t.
So I thank him for giving us laughter with a hard kick to the ass. I know his shows made me a better person because I didn’t want to grow up to be an Archie Bunker. And I am proud to say I am not.
Matthew Perry, 54, was found dead in his hot tub today, according to Variety.
Perry was best known for Friends, but he was so much better than that show. He was a comedic genius and was smarter than the scripts that were given him.
But like his character on Growing Pains, he was plagued by the bottle and drugs. He struggled with it for years, and it took its toll on him. I hope he is finding the peace in heaven he didn’t get here on Earth.
And tonight, I won’t cry over his death. I will remember the good times I had watching him in Boys Will Be Boys, Fools Rush In, The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 17 Again, Mr. Sunshine, and The Odd Couple, to name a few.
Although, I will be blubbering if I watch that Growing Pains episode.
So, I will focus on his funnier works because I want to remember him with a smile. He would make me laugh. I wish people could have seen how funny he was as I did at press events. He had a way about him that we didn’t get to see him as when he had a script in his hand.
Let’s remember him with laughs. This way, he could know that we knew he was funny.
Suzanne Somers passed away today, the day before her 77th birthday, from a battle with cancer.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Somers’ longtime publicist R. Couri Hay wrote in a statement on behalf of the actress’ family to Variety.
“Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family. Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”
Somers literally drove onto the scene in 1973’s America Graffiti as the blonde in the Thunderbird.
Four years later, she landed the role in Three’s Company, and that made her a household name. At first, we all loved the ditzy Chrissy Snow. And then we were all shocked and respected her when she was unceremoniously fired from the show for asking to be paid what she was worth.
She might not have gotten money from the series, but she got it from Thighmaster. It was a portable exercise machine that was the hit of the ’90s. As was her show Step By Step, which was also hit on Friday nights.
Somers continued to act, but her later years were spent selling organic beauty products and clothing.
Today, let’s honor her by watching one of her television shows and laughing with the blonde who was smarter than she played!
Somers is survived by her husband, Alan Hammel, her son, Bruce Jr., from a previous marriage, three grandchildren, and Hammel’s two children.